In Her Glory
by GatherYeRosebuds
Summary: A mutant with serious potential and even more serious problems is rescued and taken to Xavier's School. This is her XMen story through her eyes. It's a broad summary, but XMen fans will enjoy it. Starts at X1, contains action, language, & slight romance.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello, everyone. So, this is the first chapter of an X-Men story that spans all three movies and then continues post X3. This is the first time I've published this story, so I hope you enjoy it, and please review!**

* * *

_Chapter 1_

There were lights ahead. Not very many, but lights meant buildings. That was good. She had walked the last six miles through the snow on foot. Her black Converse were soaked through, as were her jeans to the knee.

Now it was dark, growing darker, and for the first time in a long time, she was the tiniest bit relieved to find a place inhabited by people. She was hungry. She was tired. Her russet hair was cold against the back of her neck. The ring and chain around her throat felt frozen to her skin. Her entire body was numb. Her hands, partially covered by fingerless gloves, shook from the cold, and her teeth chattered. She could see her breath in the air, coming through her emerald green knitted scarf. She reached over her shoulder and pulled up the hood to her zippered sweatshirt. She pulled her scarf back up so it covered her nose again, and pulled her skull cap down on her forehead so only her eyes were visible.

The only time she'd been driven to use her powers was when she had been hitchhiking, to keep whoever she rode with concerned with _only_ the road. She was glad she had finally reached a town. Towns usually meant she could get lost in a crowd and pretend she was normal for a few short hours.

She pulled her small, black rucksack higher onto her shoulder, and continued forging her way toward the lights. The sign she passed said Laughlin City, Alberta, Canada.

* * *

She glanced up at the buildings around her. Not much of a city.

A large, rectangular sign caught her eye; she turned to look at it. It was rusted, and banging against the building it was bolted to, but in faded red letters it clearly read 'Diner'.

She climbed up the three steps off the snow-covered road, and pulled open the wooden door. It creaked, and a few people looked up from their tables. She rubbed her hands together and stomped each of her feet twice in the doorway. She silently crossed the dirty, wooden-slatted floor and sat on a stool at the bar two down from a girl in a green hood, pulling her scarf down from her face.

The bartender, in a red and blue lumberjack shirt, stopped in front of her. "If you're not going to order anything but water, get out." As he spoke, he threw a look at the girl down the bar. She glanced at her from under the edge of her hood. The girl swallowed somewhat nervously.

Reaching into her back pocket, the newcomer pulled out the last of her money. She studied the cardboard menu written in thick black marker tacked against the wall above the tap behind the bar.

"You've got soup?" she asked, her voice husky from the cold.

The bartender nodded. "Chicken noodle," he said.

Pulling a ten from the thin fold of Canadian money, she placed it on the bar. "Two," she said.

The bartender punched the cost into the cash register, and the drawer popped open with a ding. He handed her her change, and she put her money back into her pocket. He went around back, for some reason taking the tip jar with him, and came back five minutes later, placing the bowls in front of her.

She pushed one of the bowls to the next seat. Warily, as if she was only teasing her, the other girl reached for the bowl. The girl who had entered the diner second pulled her arm back, and picked up her own spoon.

"Thank you," the girl down the bar said. The girl who had paid let the warm broth sit in her mouth for a moment, and then swallowed. Anything tasted good at this point. She hadn't eaten in two days.

"Don't mention it," she replied softly, putting a spoonful of limp noodles in her mouth.

Both girls finished supper relatively quickly, and the bartender took away their bowls. Basking in the heat of the diner, the second girl sipped a glass of water slowly.

"I'm Rogue," the first girl said, almost hesitantly. She had a slow, kind of drawling American accent, probably southern. The second girl suddenly knew the first was a mutant, and that she was on the run because of it, just like her.

Her powers were acting by themselves again. Sometimes, she simply envied other mutants, instead of normal humans. At least their powers seemed to be definite. Hers was never the same. When she chose to use them, she could make her curse do whatever she wanted it to; if she could picture it, she could do it. Sometimes, just like now, however, they acted by themselves.

She swallowed hard, and put the glass of water to her forehead. "My name's Bane," she replied, barely moving her lips, mouth dry. Usually the nauseous feeling that came over her when her powers acted of their own accord faded quickly. This time, though, it seemed to be getting stronger. She felt shaky, and she knew her face was pale. Sweat beaded on her forehead. The bar in front of her wavered, and images replaced it, all fleeting and shooting by in rapid succession. The diner door opening. A glass falling on the floor and breaking. Rogue ignoring Bane. Two men entering the bar. Bane lying on her back in the road, looking up at the clear night sky.

The vision suddenly vanished, and she brought the glass to her lips and drank. Now the feeling of nausea began to fade. "Rogue," she said quickly and quietly, as the bartender went behind again.

Yeah?" she replied, giving her a quick, furtive glance and adopting Bane's quiet speech.

"Whatever happens in the next few minutes, you should pretend you don't know me."

Now Rogue looked openly at Bane. "What?" Bane continued to stare at the bar. Her hand tightened on the glass.

"Don't look!" Bane hissed. Rogue gulped, and turned her face back down. "Please, promise you'll do this!" Bane glanced at her. "Consider it payment for dinner," she added.

Rogue nodded. "Okay."

For the next few minutes, there was no communication in the bar. The only noises came from a heavy man snoring on a bench in the back of the diner, and from the television fastened in the corner. It was tuned to the global news channel, where a female anchor was reporting on the U.N. Summit to be held in New York on Ellis Island on the topic of mutant registration. The very idea made Bane shudder.

The bell above the door chimed, and Bane glanced at the two men who entered. Neither was very attractive; they were scruffy and unkempt. As they approached the bar, she was overpowered by the smell of alcohol. Bane noted the wedding rings on both of their left hands. They took the two seats on her other side. Rogue dutifully kept her eyes down at her hands on the bar.

"Two beers, 'tender," the one closest to Bane said. She looked down at her hands. Her fingers clenched the edge of the bar.

"Are you sure that's what you really want?" she asked quietly. The man who had ordered turned to her with a sneer.

"What was that?" he snarled.

She turned to look at him. "I'd say you and your friend are blitzed enough as it is. Maybe you should order ginger ale so you at least look sober when you head home," she told him. He leaned in on his elbow so quickly he hit her glass of water. It fell off the bar and shattered, just as she had foreseen. Bane maintained her outer calm, not even flinching.

"I don't really think it's any of your business, girlie," said the second man.

Sighing, she stood, avoiding the broken glass. Holding her power in check, she carefully probed the minds of the two men. "I suppose you're right," she said loudly, picking her rucksack up from where it had been resting against her stool and sliding it onto her shoulder. The diner had fallen completely silent, and the low number of occupants all watched the scene that was unfolding at the bar. "It's also probably none of my business that you both have wives waiting at home who think you're at work right now." Bane narrowed her eyes, concentrating. "And you," she said, pointing at the second man, "have two young children who are lying awake in their beds waiting for 'Daddy Dearest' to kiss them goodnight and tell them there aren't monsters under their beds or in their closets."

The two men stared at her, slack-jawed. "You," Bane continued, pointing at the man who had ordered, "aren't even going to go home after having a few with your boy here. Don't you have a lady-friend you're going to go see after this?"

The first man stood up so roughly his stool fell into the other man and then landed on the floor with a clatter. "I have _never_ cheated on my wife, you little bitch!" he hissed.

"Is that so?" she promptly replied. "So, when you told Cheryll you were going on a business trip in September, you weren't really going to Sandra's house for, and I quote, 'a good fuck'?"

The second man had now stood up. "How, how did you know that?"

Bane put her hand forward, focusing on the shattered glass. "You know what I loathe even more than liars?" she asked. The broken remnants of the glass began to slowly rise from the floor, and as they floated towards the top of the bar, they began to meet and fuse together. "People who don't appreciate what they've been given." A completely repaired glass landed gently on the countertop. Rogue gasped slightly, but quickly swallowed and was silent once more.

"Mutant!" the first man said. Rolling up their sleeves, the two advanced on her so quickly she was taken by surprise. The first man grabbed the collar of her shirt and pinned her up against the far wall near the door. He got right in her face, his breath rank. Bane craned her neck, trying to breathe.

"Now… is that any way to… treat a lady?" she asked. The man's friend held open the door, and she knew how her last vision came about.

"You're no lady," he said, pulling her off the wall and carrying her, still by her collar, to the door.

"You're a monster," his friend finished. With that, she was hurled unceremoniously from the diner and into the street. Sliding back several feet, she came to a rest with her back in the snow, the stars staring down at her.

Coughing, trying to regain her breath, she sat up, shaking the snow out of her hair. The door to the diner slammed shut. She sighed, standing. The entire back of her body was now wet.

Bane had no clue what had just come over her. She hadn't ever done anything like that before. She began to feel a tense knot forming in the pit of her stomach.

She shouldn't have made a scene like that. It wasn't right. Once again, her curse showed its true colors. She turned, hand to her forehead, and ran into the front of a tall man. He deftly caught Bane's wrist before she toppled backwards, catching her halfway. If it had been daylight, she were sure he would have posed as a very frightening presence, with hair that was styled to stand on end and silver dog tags around his neck, partially covered by a worn leather jacket.

"Mutant, eh?" he said.

Bane broke into a cold sweat. She jerked her arm away, and ran recklessly down the road leading out of town.

* * *

After several more hitchhiking sessions, Bane finally made it across the border into the United States. It wasn't like they could deny her access; one, they didn't know she was a mutant, and two, she was a rightfully born American citizen.

She hadn't really intended to come into the U.S., not to begin with. She had been trying to go east, maybe to Newfoundland. She just wanted to be someplace where there weren't a lot of other normal humans she could hurt.

That all changed after Laughlin City. Now she was just trying to make her way south, to the desert. So she had backtracked, and crossed the border. Since she was here, though, there was one stop she had to make.

Seattle wasn't very far from where she crossed. Long ago she had memorized the way to the cemetery, and she could still walk it by heart even though she had been gone for years.

Bane crouched down in front of a wide granite headstone. Etched at the top was an angel in flowing robes, her left arm full of roses and lilies, and her right hand raised to the heavens. Her flowing hair was blown back from her delicate features. Below, carved deep into the stone, read:

**Trisha Hope Torrence**

**Beloved Daughter and Sister**

**1993-2000**

**"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."**

Bane leaned back and sat on the ground, knees drawn to her chest.

"It's been a while, huh, kid?" she said to the grave. She rested her chin on her arms. "Five years, if my math's right." Her voice became strangled, choked with tears. "I don't think I've ever told you how sorry I am. It was an accident, Trisha, I swear. God…"

She sniffed, and looked away, wiping her eyes.

When she could see clearly again, she pulled a chain and ring out from under her shirt. The chain was plain silver; the ring was tiny, and could probably only fit on Bane's pinkie finger. It was silver as well, and set with a tiny garnet and diamond cross. Garnets were Trisha's birthstone. It had been going to be her First Communion gift. Bane's parents had given it to her as a memento of Trisha after she had passed.

"I still wear this, you know," she said. "Guess it's like my guilty conscience." She stood. "I'm gonna go away. Just disappear. Head down south, somewhere, maybe Arizona. Someplace remote." Bane sighed. "I'm a mutant, kiddo, in case you hadn't figured me out yet. And not a good one, either. I'm cursed. I killed you, and almost killed Mom and Dad. They don't remember me anymore. I can't make you forget, though. Please forgive me."

Bending down on one knee, she placed a hand on either side of the ground beside headstone, and closed her eyes. Trisha always ran around in the summer at the park and picked as many daisies as she could find. Bane would make daisy crowns out of them to put on top of her curly, golden head.

Bane opened her eyes, and watched as green shoots pushed out of the ground, growing rapidly and blooming into large white daisies. Standing, she kissed the tips of her fingers, and pressed them against Trisha's name.

"Goodbye."

Bane took a few steps towards the path, and then raised her head, stopping. A tall man had stopped in the middle of the gravel walkway, and had raised a shaking hand to point at her. "M-mutant!" he said hoarsely.

Bane quickly assessed her chances. The man was tall, and had a broad chest. He appeared fortyish, and was graying slightly at the temples. There was a dropped bouquet of small, pink flowers wrapped in brown paper at his feet.

She could see the gate not far behind him. She glanced over her shoulder, and could see the black, wrought iron fence far back beyond the graves. She decided it would be better to take her chances with the man in front of her.

With a running start, she leapt over the man, jumping higher than any normal human could ever jump. She landed in a crouched position behind him. He whirled around as she started running towards the gate.

"MUTANT!" he started yelling after her. "MUTANT!!"

People on the street stopped and turned as Bane passed beneath the black-and-gold arch that read 'Saint Hope's Cemetery'. The man followed her, yelling ever louder. Mothers shielded their children from her, as though the mutant gene were contagious. Men yelled after her as she ran past them, calling her obscene names. She pushed past all of them, barreling forward.

She passed a group of young men smoking against the brick wall of some building. One elbowed another, and they began following her, matching her pace. Civilian traffic began to move back to normal.

The man from the cemetery, silent now, started walking down the sidewalk. He turned into an alley and stopped just before a thin, small man crouched atop a metal trashcan. Mystique shed her previous form.

"Did you find her?" Toad asked. The blue woman smirked, and slightly nodded her head. Toad grinned. "Excellent."

* * *

Bane turned onto a side street, and leaned against a wall, hand to her chest, panting heavily. She bent over, hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"Hey," a voice said above her. She looked up, and a fist collided with her face, knocking her to the ground. Gasping and clenching her teeth in pain, her hand flew to the side of her face. She looked up to try and face her attacker. Four men towered over her as she lay on the ground, each appearing very young, perhaps in their early twenties.

"What the - NGH!!" As she had tried to push herself up, the man who had punched her kicked her square in the stomach. She instinctively curled up on her side.

All four of the men started kicking her. Some of their blows even hit her head. Bane brought her knees up to protect her stomach and wrapped her arms over her head and face. The beating must have only gone on for a little more than five minutes, but it seemed like an eternity.

"Does it hurt, bitch?" one of the men asked. "This is what's coming to you, and all of your kind!" He bent, grabbed her hair to hold her up, and punched her again, knocking her back to the ground on her other side. She rolled slightly onto her stomach, and coughed up a little blood on the pavement. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another man pull his leg back, and braced for the impact.

The blow never came. Instead, there were shouts and the sound of fighting. Bane glanced up through her arms. Two of the men were now running from the alley. One was knocked out cold, a thin trickle of blood running from one nostril. Another was being mercilessly beaten by a woman who was clearly a mutant. Her skin was blue and scale-like, she had golden-colored eyes, and had short, red hair slicked back against her head.

Breathing labored, Bane scrambled up off the ground and began moving towards the street and the daylight. Something wrapped around her ankle, though, and pulled sharply. She fell forward onto the pavement again, and landed on her stomach.

Looking over her shoulder, she followed the wet, greenish-black rope around her ankle to where it seemed to be coming from. As Bane realized with terror, however, it wasn't actually a rope, but a tongue belonging to another mutant squatting at the far end of the alley. She screamed as it – he – started pulling her towards him. She started scrabbling at the ground, trying to get a grip to pull herself away from him, or at least to a stop, but only succeeded in breaking off nearly all of her fingernails. Bane rolled over so she was being dragged along on her back. She felt her shirt catch and pull up, and felt her bare back scrape along the rough asphalt.

The mutant's tongue had nearly retracted all the way now, and she quickly devised a plan she thought might get her loose. As soon as she was close enough to the mutant, she bent her knee and planted her tennis shoe right into the mutant's face.

"Augh!"

As she had hoped, the man pulled his tongue back completely into his mouth, releasing her, and his hands flew to his face. She hoped she had broken his nose, Bane thought, as she started running toward the end of the alley again.

She watched as the blue mutant woman hit the man in her grasp, and then dropped him on the ground. The woman turned to look at her, but Bane was nearly frantic now, and she wasn't going to let herself get caught up again. She had heard stories of mutant experimentation, and sometimes scientists procured new test subjects with the help of other mutants. She wasn't going to be some kind of lab rat.

She focused her mind on the woman, threw an arm forward, and then out to the side. The blue mutant was lifted off the ground and slammed into the left side of the alley. Bane sprinted past her.

Due to her injuries, this much effort was making her entire body throb in agony. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. She kept pushing herself, though, trying to get away from that alley.

There was a cut on her forehead, and it leaked blood down her face. Her legs and arms allowed her to move jerkily at a strange gallop, but barely. She could finally no longer go on about three blocks later, and she came close to a dead halt. Bane's mouth felt dry, and her throat made a rasping noise as she sucked in air. Every inch of her body was screaming for her to stop.

She managed to stumble into a small playground. She dragged her feet through the sand, and the tiny grains filtered through the bottoms of her shoes.

She dropped to her knees. Several tiny children around her shrieked and ran away. She tried to concentrate on healing, but she was too tired and in too much pain to call upon even the tiniest ounce of her curse. Accepting the inevitable and closing her eyes, she fell forward onto the cool sand.

* * *

**OK, so, technically, there were no X-Men in this chapter. But the story's got to start somewhere, so please wait for Chapter 2. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey, everyone. So... here's Chapter Two, comin' at ya!**

* * *

_Chapter 2_

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

On the eighth beep, Bane's eyes snapped open, and she gasped for air. Whatever she was laying on was very, very cold. She rolled onto her side, coughing fiercely. There was the fast clicking of heels on tile behind her. "It's okay, it's okay," a soothing voice said, placing a hand against her back. Bane opened her eyes, and turned back slightly to see a dark-skinned woman standing there with chalk white hair.

Her first and immediate reaction was a violent one. Bane rolled off of the thick, metal table, clutching the thin, white sheet that had been laid over her to her chest. "Stay away from me!" she shouted, throwing out her arm. A enormous gust of wind seemingly came out of nowhere.

The woman was pushed back only slightly. Her eyes became a milky, filmy white, and she countered Bane's attack with one exactly like it.

"That's enough!" she said firmly. Bane stared at the woman for a moment, and then slowly lowered her arm.

"That's better," the other woman said. Bane took another step back, and glanced down at herself. She saw she was only in her bra and underwear. Her hand flew to her throat.

"Trisha…" she whispered. Bane looked up again. "My clothes," she said hoarsely to the woman. She smiled warmly.

"Here," she said, striding to a white cabinet and opening it. As she did so, Bane took in her surroundings. Along with the table that had been serving as her bed, there were two more like it. Everything along the walls was white; the cabinets, the counters, everything. On the counters and stacked together on tables and wheeled trolleys were black machines that did everything from measuring heart rate to administering morphine.

Bane saw blue and black wires attached to her arms, and proceeded to pull them off. The strange woman didn't say anything when she saw what she was doing. She just set her clothes on the silver table; the necklace was on top.

"Come out into the hall when you're done," she said.

* * *

Bane slowly got dressed, and cautiously walked toward the door the white-haired woman had gone through. She saw no way to open it, but, after she stood there for a few seconds, they slid open on their own. The woman greeted her.

"There are several people who are very eager to meet you," she said, leading Bane down a brightly-lit white and circular-shaped hallway.

"My bag," Bane said to her, following behind. "Do you know where my bag is?"

The woman stopped in front of a panel of buttons on the wall. "Your things are already in a room," she said, pressing a button. It lit up, and then, with a tiny metallic ding, a door slid open before them to reveal a wooden-paneled elevator. They stepped inside, and it began to move upward.

"Room?" she asked softly. "Where am I?"

The woman looked at her. Smiling, she said, "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters," she said.

There was another ding, and the doors slid open again to reveal a beautiful foyer. The two women stepped out of the elevator and started walking forward. Handsome rugs were spread across much of the wooden floor, and comfortable looking furniture rested atop of them. Tall potted ferns sat everywhere, and Bane could see three wide staircases leading to upper levels.

"I'm in a school? How-"

"One question at a time!" the woman laughed. "It's a school for mutants," she explained. "A friend of mine and I found you collapsed in Seattle. We brought you here, to this school in Westchester."

Bane looked at her as she caught her arm, stopping her. A group of laughing teenagers passed in front of them, barely glancing in their direction. "Westchester?" she asked.

"New York," the other woman said casually.

Bane stopped short behind her as she went to a wooden door and started to open it. "New York?!" she asked, heart leaping into her throat.

The other woman turned her head to face her. "Yes. Now, in here." Bane hesitantly stepped to her side, and she pushed the door inward. "Professor," she said to someone in the room.

Peering around her, Bane saw an older, bald man sitting behind a large, dark wooden desk. He nodded slightly, and the white-haired woman gently pushed her into the room. She stepped to the side, and the woman stood next to her after she closed the door.

"For tomorrow," the man said, directing his class' attention back to him, "finish the equations we were just covering. You may be dismissed early today."

The buzzing drone of talk rose immediately as chairs were pushed back. Most of the class grinned at Bane as they passed towards the door. Some even flashed her a thumbs up. She reached over her shoulder to pull up her hood, writhing under the attention she was receiving, but the white-haired woman caught her arm and pulled it back down to her side.

Once the last student had left and the door had closed, the old man, the 'professor', came out from behind his desk. Bane gasped quietly, surprised to see he was in a wheelchair. He seemed like such a powerful figure.

"Hello," he said, inclining his head slightly at her. "I'm Professor Xavier, and this is my school for mutants." He turned his head towards the white-haired woman. "I see you've already met Ororo Munroe, or rather, Storm," he said. Storm turned and smiled at her, and the door opened again. Bane looked at the three figures that entered.

The first was a tall man who looked like he could be the all-American high school football player, minus the large black and red plastic eye gear.

"This is Scott Summers, also called Cyclops," Professor Xavier said. Cyclops nodded at you in recognition.

The second figure was a tall, redheaded woman. "This is Dr. Jean Grey," the professor said.

"Hello," she said, shaking Bane's hand.

"And this is Logan, also known as Wolverine." Bane stared at the man who had stopped in the doorway.

"You!" she gasped. It was the tall man with the spiked hair from Alberta.

"You're that mutant girl from up north, right?" he growled. "The one that got thrown outta that diner?" Bane fell silent, staring at the tips of her shoes. Storm cleared her throat next to you.

"What is your name, child?" she asked.

"Bane," she answered automatically, without looking up.

"Bane?" the other woman, Jean Grey, said. "Is that your real name?"

Bane looked up at her face. "My name is Bane."

The professor wheeled toward her. "Bane," he said deliberately. "Do you remember anything that happened in Seattle?"

She nodded slightly.

"Would you care to tell us?"

She shook her head.

Xavier wheeled closer to her. "Do you mind if I take a look?" Bane's eyes widened, and she looked down at him.

"You see, Bane, my gift is telepathy. If you permit me, I can delve into your memories and see what has happened to you, and you won't have to say anything aloud." Bane weighed the idea. "It's clear you've been through a terrible ordeal, Bane. However, we can't help you if we don't know what there is to mend."

Thinking a while longer, Bane silently relented, and sat down on a stool at one of the tables. Professor Xavier wheeled up close to her, and Logan, Storm, Scott, and Jean stood at his back. His face came very near hers, and he closed his eyes. Bane did as well, leaning forward slightly.

Everything he was seeing she saw as well. Trisha's grave. The daisies. The man with the pointing finger. The men in the alleyway. The blue woman. The tongue. The sand.

But then, he started going back further. She saw Alberta, with Rogue and the two men in the bar, and Wolverine, and then her parents, and then Christopher, and then her sister. All these images flashed by in no time at all.

Stop. That area of her memory hadn't been discussed.

Stop. He was prying; that was none of his business.

"STOP!" Bane suddenly shouted, opening her eyes. She watched in horror as the professor's wheelchair shot backwards to the wall, the professor falling forward onto the ground halfway there. Scott and Jean rushed to help him up. Bane stood.

"I'm… I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's okay, Bane, it was an accident," Storm said, trying to soothe her, reaching for her arm. Bane jerked it away. "I'm sorry!" she burst, running for the door and throwing it open with such force it banged against the wall.

"Bane!" Storm called after her. She didn't listen. She was hurting people again, people who were trying to help her. She needed to leave.

She heedlessly veered left, sprinting, frantically searching for any exit, and collided with a blonde boy in a red shirt, nearly knocking you and him both to the ground.

"I-I'm sorry," Bane stammered as she watched him pick up the books she had made him drop. He straightened, and faced you.

"Hey," he said, familiarity dawning on his face. "You're that girl from geometry," he said wonderingly.

"BANE!" she heard Storm call from behind her.

"I'm sorry!" she said to him once more before pushing past him and continuing her frenzied run. He turned after her.

"Hey, wait! Come back!"

* * *

Bane found an empty horse stall, and opened it. The straw laid down on the bottom of the stall was clean and unused. She slid open the catch, and pulled the half-door shut behind her, reaching her arm over the top to latch the lock again. She sat in the far corner, knees drawn to her chest, arms wrapped around them, chin resting on top, tears in her eyes.

After Bane had found doors that led outside, she had seen the horse barn, and, realizing she was behind the school, chose it as her hiding place until she could regain her senses and methodically find an exit to leave the grounds altogether.

She heard the far door slide open and closed. She thought it was just a student come to visit one of the animals. No one would think to look for her here. She made no move.

"There you are," a voice above the stall door said. Bane started. She didn't need to look up to see who it was.

The boy slid open the lock and closed the door behind him, locking it in place again. "They're looking for you inside the school, you know," he said. She said nothing.

"Why were you running from them?"

Bane slowly held up a gloved hand in front of her face. "I could kill you right now, if I wanted to," she said. The boy said nothing.

"I don't want to, but sometimes I can't control what happens. Everything seems connected with my thoughts." She looked up at the blonde boy. "Why would you want to be near someone who could do that?" she asked.

The boy slowly reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a small, blue plastic lighter. "My gift is that I can manipulate fire," he said, creating a spark with the lighter and then holding a tennis ball-sized flame in his hand after the flame in the lighter had gone out.

"Fire is an element that has no self-control. I guess that's why I'm drawn to you," he said, curling his hand into a fist and squelching the flame. He crossed the straw-covered floor and sat leaning against the wall next to Bane, cross-legged.

"My curse is immense," she said. "It has no limits I can find. If I can picture it in my head, I can do it. It's so simple, and yet so complex."

The boy turned his head to her. "Why do you call it a curse?" he asked. The tears threatened to spill over.

"I hurt people I love. I can't do anything with it except hurt people. Something like that is not a gift, such as what you possess."

The boy laughed slightly. "What can I do with fire other than burn things?" Bane didn't answer. "Exactly. So I guess we're pretty alike, huh?"

Despite herself, Bane smiled, and laughed a little.

"There, see? You're not completely alone," he said. He crossed his body with his right arm, and held his hand out to her. "I'm John."

Shyly, she shook his hand. "Bane."

* * *

With some encouragement from John, Bane finally agreed to go back into the school and meet again in the professor's study. After John closed the door and left, she started to apologize, but the professor held up a hand, stopping her.

"The blame falls entirely on me, Bane. I had no right to dig deeper into your memories without first consulting you." She nodded. "Good," the professor said with a slight smile. He turned his chair, and started wheeling himself toward his desk.

"The people who attacked you were two mutants named Mystique and Toad. They work for another, very powerful mutant named Magneto."

Bane arched an eyebrow. "Magneto?" The professor nodded.

"Yes. Now, Bane, do you know what it is you have the power to do? That is, do you understand it?" She shook your head.

"I didn't think so," the professor said. "Your mind is the source of your power. I believe you told John, 'if I can picture it, I can do it'?" She nodded.

"Well, that's exactly it," the professor said. "Like myself, and Jean, your mind is incredibly powerful. I believe your gift is a form of telepathy that can focus on the external as well as the internal."

He started again after a moment's pause. "The power your mind possesses far surpasses my own," the professor said.

Several heads turned to face Xavier. "Professor," Scott, or Cyclops, started to say. Xavier held up a hand.

"However, you are still very raw around the edges. I also believe you told John that you couldn't control your talent?" Bane looked him squarely in the eye.

"It is no talent," she said firmly.

"Not yet," the professor replied. "My mind is trained, while yours is not. That is why you cannot control what you can do, and sometimes your emotions speak for you." The professor leaned forward. "Bane, if you would permit me, I should like to enroll you in this school. It is the only one of its kind, and here you can learn alongside those like you in a normal learning environment, while also learning to control and contain your ability. What do you say?"

Bane looked at her hands. She knew she should say no. Did these people not understand that she hurt anyone near her? But… Xavier had said he could help control that so it wouldn't happen anymore.

She looked at the faces around her, Storm's, Wolverine's, Jean's, Scott's. Storm and Jean smiled encouragingly. Scott gave a slight, definitive nod. Logan's face was blank. Strangely, she found herself agreeing, under one condition.

"Do you promise?" she asked softly. She looked at the professor. "That you'll help me control it?"

The professor nodded once. "I promise, Bane."

She nodded in return. "Alright, then."

* * *

"This is your room," Storm said, opening one of many oaken doors. "You don't mind sharing, do you? The mansion is quite large, but we do have a lot of kids here," she asked. Bane shook her head, surveying the room. It had two other beds in it besides the on her black backpack was on.

"No. I used to share a room with-" Bane stopped yourself.

"With your sister?" Storm finished, following you into the room and sitting on her bed.

Bane stared at her. Storm smiled. "The professor told us."

"Oh."

Storm patted the bed, and Bane sat next to her. "It was not your fault, Bane," she began soothingly.

"Yes, it was." Bane paused, and then suddenly found herself spilling the entire story. She couldn't help it. "We were on vacation, and she was swimming in the lake. I was sitting on this tree that had fallen into the water, and watching all fish in the shallows, and I was wondering what it would be like to talk to fish. I was only twelve; twelve year-olds think stupid things like that. Then I found this stick and started swirling the water with it, like the lake was a huge cauldron, and I was a witch who could make magic potions. It was a game I used to play with Trisha; she would always be the captive princess and I was the evil witch. I guess I was mad I never got to be the princess. All of a sudden, though, there were these huge waves coming from every direction. They all landed on top of her, and when the water settled, she didn't come back up. Dad went nuts; he dived in after her, with all his clothes on and everything. Mom started screaming and crying."

Bane paused, swallowing. Her face was completely calm and smooth. "They eventually had to drag the lake to find her. The nets brought up her body three days later. It was horrible; she was all bloated and swollen. It didn't look anything like her. I never got over it. That's why we moved the Canada; my parents thought I was depressed." She reached into her shirt, found the chain with Trisha's ring on it, and pulled it out. "This was hers."

Bane looked at Storm. "If there was any way I could bring her back, I'd be the witch forever," she said. "I already am."

Storm touched her shoulder. "Bane-" She stopped, and Bane heard two girls' voices out in the hall. They stopped in the doorway.

The first was a tall girl with long, black hair in a white shirt, yellow jacket, and blue jeans. Bane recognized the girl following her, despite the fact she no longer had a green hood over her face.

"I was wondering who this other bed was going to," the first girl said, crossing to the far side of the room and the bed closest to the other wall. She dropped her books on the bed, and then walked back to the door. "See you later," she said to Rogue. The girl turned to look at Bane. "I'm Jubilee, nice to meet you." She left before Bane could say anything.

Rogue stood motionless, staring at Bane. Bane slowly stood. "Uh… hi," she said to Rogue. "Long time no see." Storm looked back and forth between the two girls.

"You two know each other?" she asked. Apparently, the professor hadn't had a chance to tell all before Bane had returned to his study. Rogue nodded.

"How did you get here?" the two girls asked each other at the same time. Rogue laughed a bit. "Um, I hitched a ride with a guy named Logan. He's here too," Rogue answered.

"Yeah, I saw him," Bane said.

"Then Storm and Scott brought us here after some guy named Sabertooth attacked us."

Bane nodded. "I was in Seattle, and Storm and…" She looked to Storm for the other person's name.

"Dr. Grey," she supplied.

"Storm and Dr. Grey brought me here," she finished.

Rogue nodded, and glanced at Bane's bed, then the middle one, which Bane supposed was hers. "Then I guess we're roommates. Cool," she said with a smile.

"Yeah, cool," Bane echoed, slightly wary of such a commitment. Storm stood up.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it, then," she said, starting for the door. She stopped beside Bane. "If you need anything, my room is just upstairs, with Scott's and Jean's, and Logan's, and the professor's." Bane nodded, and Storm left. Rogue looked at Bane.

"Well, I guess you want to unpack, but… would you like to eat lunch with me and a few friends of mine?" Bane took a step back.

"Um, well…" she started, a bit unsure of what to say.

"Don't feel like you have to," Rogue said quickly.

"No, I want to," Bane suddenly decided. If she was going to try to stay here, and go to school, it would be better to have friends, other mutants, who might understand her. Rogue's disposition at the diner told Bane that she was running from something terrible as well. Perhaps she would be one of the best people to be around.

* * *

"This isn't at all what I expected," Xavier said.

"What do you mean?" Scott asked, leaning against the professor's desk, arms crossed.

"Well, I thought perhaps Magneto wanted Logan for whatever it is he's planning to do, and that's why Sabertooth attacked him and Rogue. However, with Mystique and Toad showing up in Seattle and trying to kidnap Bane, I think maybe that isn't the case."

Jean crossed the room, and stood next to Scott. "She had multiple hairline fractures when we found her, but there seems to be no trace of them left on her skeleton. She moves normally," she said.

"Healing isn't excluded in her gift. My best guess would be that she healed herself subconsciously. With the broad range of and brute strength of her powers, she is easily a high-ranking Level 4 mutant. With training, I would not be surprised to see reach a Class 5," the professor said.

"So what do we do now?" Logan asked. The professor wheeled towards the door.

"I'm going to try to use Cerebro to locate Magneto again."

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello, again! Welcome to the third chapter of _In Her Glory_. Please, enjoy yourselves!**

* * *

_Chapter 3_

"Um, Bane, this is Bobby and John." Rogue introduced her friends somewhat eagerly, having led her new roommate down into the kitchen. Bane looked around her.

"John?" she asked. He raised his hand in greeting.

"Hey," he said with a grin.

"You guys have met?" Rogue asked.

"Sorta," Bane and John said at the same time. He grinned wider, and then pointed between Bane and Rogue.

"You two know each other?" he asked. Bane and Rogue looked at each other and laughed.

"Sorta," Rogue smiled. She pulled out a stool across the counter from John and the blonde-haired Bobby. "Come on, Bane. Sit," she said.

"Alright," she said shyly, sliding into the stool.

* * *

Over the next few days, classes and all, Bane fell into a cliché. Bane, Rogue, Bobby, and John sort of became the outsiders at school, but it didn't really matter. Each of them had connections to the other kids, to the 'inside'. Each of them would say hello to them in the hall, but the four of them stuck together. They all had secrets, Bane supposed, that bonded them to each other, and although maybe none of them knew each other well enough to share them yet, it was a common link that held the four of them together.

A few days later, Bane and Rogue were both in bed, and neither one of them were asleep. Neither of them _could_ sleep. Jubilee was conked out in the corner, even snoring a bit, but Bane and Rogue were tossing and turning. They could both hear Logan upstairs, moaning and grunting in his sleep.

Around midnight, Rogue finally sat up. "Bane," she hissed. "Bane! Are you awake?"

She propped herself up on her elbows. "Yeah," she answered. Rogue paused, and then climbed out of bed.

"What are you doing?" Bane asked.

"I'm gonna go check on Logan," she replied, walking towards the door.

"Wait, wait!" Bane whispered. "I'm coming!" She pushed the covers back on her bed, and followed Rogue out the door.

They crept up the stairs to the next floor, and Rogue went and opened Logan's door. The pale light from the hallway fell in a rectangle across the floor and the foot of the bed.

Rogue entered first, Bane cautiously following second. Bane rolled Trisha's ring between her thumb and pointer finger. "Logan," Rogue whispered, bending down into his face. "Logan!"

She turned to Bane. "I can't touch him. Can you…?" Bane stepped into the room, and peered around Rogue. Logan's chest was bare. No wonder. She went around to the other side of the bed, and touched Logan's shoulder. He was drenched in sweat. She shook him.

"Logan. _Logan_. LOGAN!" she hissed loudly, shaking him ever fiercer. His head moved from side to side, leaving wet marks on his pillow.

"Logan!" Bane and Rogue hissed at the same time. His eyes snapped open, and the two girls started. With a roar, he sat up, and faced Rogue's direction.

"LOGAN!" Bane screamed. But it was too late. His silver claws shot out of his knuckles, and he thrust his fist towards Rogue. "ROGUE!" His claws sank into the front of her chest. Bane could just slightly see the tips out her back.

Bane screamed, and stumbled back against the wall. Logan looked dumbstruck, and retracted his claws. Rogue started to make choking sounds.

"Help me!" Logan yelled. "SOMEBODY HELP!" Bane was screaming and crying at the same time, slumped forward somewhat. She couldn't tear her eyes away.

Rogue very slowly lifted her hand towards Logan. He watched her out of the corner of his eye. The tips of her fingers touched his right cheek, and Logan sucked in air. Bane watched slowly as the three vertical burgundy and purple marks in the front of her chest began to fade.

There were pounding footsteps out in the hall, and suddenly there was a crowd of students in the hallway. Bane could see Bobby and John behind all of them because they were taller than the rest. Someone turned on the light. Rogue, fully healed, it appeared, pulled her hand away, and Logan collapsed on the floor. Rogue started crying, and Bane got up and walked slowly towards her. Scott and Jean pushed past all of the students in the hall to get into the room.

"Scott, get a pillow," Jean said, kneeling down next to the spasming Logan. Bane knew everyone was looking at the two of them, especially Rogue. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her arm, and grabbed the part of Rogue's arm covered by her nightgown.

"Come on," Bane whispered thickly, pulling her away. With Rogue following her diligently, Bane pushed in between the group of students, right through Bobby and John without looking at either one of them, and practically flew toward the stairs.

* * *

Rogue cried herself to sleep once they got back to their room, but Bane stayed up all night, silent, knees drawn to her chest. However, when the early, grey dawn began to shine through the window, she could no longer hold her eyes open, and she slumped down beneath her covers and fell into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

"Bane…" someone whispered above her. She was shaken slightly. "Bane… please wake up!" Her eyes opened. It was Saturday, wasn't it? She was uncomfortably warm. She looked at the underside of her comforter. It was navy-colored on top, and beige on the underside. Bane raised her arm slightly, grabbed the blanket, and pulled it down from her face. She blinked in the bright sunshine.

"R-Rogue?" she asked, squinting up at her. Rogue tucked her hair behind her ears, and smiled down at her.

"It's really late, you should probably get up," she said. Bane glanced over at the window, and saw the light streaming through the window.

"What time is it?" she asked, raising her arm to shield her eyes.

"It's about 1 o'clock," she answered.

"That late?" Bane muttered to herself. She sat up, and rested her feet on the floor. "You seem a lot more… chipper than last night," she said groggily. She still felt as tired as when she had when she had accidentally fallen asleep.

Rogue sat next to her, and drew her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "I've been thinking, Bane," she said. "I wasn't wrong. If I hadn't have borrowed Logan's power, I would've died." It made sense.

"You seem really sure about this," Bane replied. Rogue stood up, and stretched. Bane noticed she was showered, and actually dressed very nice.

"I am," she replied. "Why don't you get dressed and then we can do our homework together?" she suggested.

"Um, alright," Bane said, laughing a little bit at Rogue's complete reversal of behavior. "I'm gonna take a shower, first," she added, standing as well as Rogue walked to the door.

Rogue nodded. "Alright." The door closed, and Bane shook her head, smiling. Perhaps this wasn't as much of a disaster as she had thought it was going to turn out to be.

Opening the closet door, she dug through the mess until she found a slightly wrinkled, large, white, fluffy towel. There was also a white robe in there; Bane claimed it as her own.

She pulled open her bedroom door and walked down the empty hall to a small bathroom. She took a long, hot shower, rubbing several knots out of her shoulders, feet, back, and calves. She turned off the water, and squeezed out her hair. Then she wrapped her chocolate-colored hair in the towel after drying herself off, and tied the robe closed around her waist. She walked back down the hallway, which was still empty, and went back into her room, closing the door so she could change. She rifled through her single drawer, pulled out an outfit, and tossed it onto her unmade bed.

She was just sliding her right arm out of her robe when there was a knock at the door. Bane froze, staring at the door as it started to swing inward. "Bane? Are you-"

"JOHN!" she yelled as he started to put his head through the door. She barreled toward the door, throwing her weight up against it to push it closed.

"OW!!" she heard him yelp from the other side. Bane reacted quickly. Pulling her robe up over her shoulder and tightening it quickly, she pulled open the door, and saw John holding his left hand in his right. "Aw, _shit_, Bane…"

Her hands flew to her mouth. "Oh my God, John, I'm so sorry," she gasped, stepping out into the hall for a second to usher him into her room. She guided him to her bed and made him sit down. "Oh, John, it was an accident, I just…"

He tried to laugh it off. "It's alright, I swear," he said, somewhat shakily.

"Let me see," Bane said worriedly, gently pulling his injured hand toward her. She studied it. It looked bruised and broken. She had really hit that door hard.

Bane bit her lip. She had always been able to heal herself, but she might not be able to heal someone else. She remembered the professor saying if she could picture it, she could do it. She imagined John's hand as it was before she had completely smashed it in the door.

"Maybe…" she muttered to herself.

"Maybe wha-"

"Ssh…" Bane said. She carefully sandwiched his hand between hers, and closed her eyes. She felt a slightly cool sensation against the palms of both of her hands. Opening her eyes, she looked at John's hand. It didn't look great, but it looked better. Perhaps it was only a fracture now.

"That's the best I can do. You might want to have Dr. Grey look at it," she suggested. She looked up at him. "John, I'm really, really sorry," she started.

"I came up here to see if you were awake yet. I wanted to talk to you," he said. He seemed really serious, which was unlike him. Out of the four, Bane was pretty sure John was the biggest screw-up of them all.

"About what?" she asked.

"Last night," he replied. "Are you alright?"

Bane blinked. "Well, yeah. Why?" John looked down at his injured hand.

"If you were alright, why didn't you stop her?" he asked.

"Wh-who? Rogue?"

John looked up at her. "Why did you let her hurt someone else? Another mutant, too!" His voice was steadily growing louder.

"John, she-she would've died!" Bane said. "Y-you weren't there! You can't just come in here and preach to me about what I should or shouldn't have done!"

John stood up, looking down at her. "The kids are talking, Bane. A lot of them. They don't blame Rogue. They blame you, for not stopping her."

She stood up. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked him.

"Because, Bane. I don't want you to hear it from them," he replied. He started walking towards the door. Opening it, he paused. "Maybe you should just get out of here before you have to deal with the professor." He stepped into the hall, and closed the door behind him.

Mystique let her arm morph back to normal, and looked at her left hand. It wouldn't matter how many times she changed shape; the injury would still be there.

She rolled her eyes in vexation, and then transformed her whole body into the shape of a boy named Bobby Drake, turned for the stairs, and went to find Rogue.

* * *

Bane slowly got dressed, and then sat on the floor with her back resting against her bed and her eyes closed. She must have stayed in that position for close to half an hour before making her decision.

Standing, she made her bed, and then set her backpack down on top of the comforter. She painstakingly pulled every book and paper she had received in her classes out and stacked them largest to smallest from the bottom up on her nightstand next to her lamp. She criss-crossed the room, picking up all the tiny knick knacks she had accumulated or had already had, and sorted them out as she put them away. She went to the dresser, and emptied out her drawer and put her folded clothes inside the largest zipper on the rucksack.

As she was doing this, the door opened again, and Bane looked up. Rogue, red-faced, stood there, sniffling and staring at her. "What, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Rogue, what's wrong?" Bane asked, taking a step forward. Rogue started going around the room, taking everything she had in her arms and dropping it on her own bed.

"Bobby said the professor was mad at me for what happened last night." As she talked, she opened the closet, and pulled a green duffel bag with tan handles out from the bottom. "I need to leave. He's right; I shouldn't stay here," she said, probably more to herself than Bane. She stopped suddenly, her hands full of clothes half in her bag. "What were you doing up here?"

Bane looked down at her bare toes. "Packing. I'm leaving too. I talked to John, and he said it would be bad if I stayed because of what the kids were saying and what the professor might do." She didn't look at Rogue's face as she started to pull on a pair of socks and her black Converse.

"Can I come with you?" Rogue asked suddenly. Bane looked up at her, and nodded.

"Yeah. Sure. I wouldn't mind the company."

* * *

Bane and Rogue stood in front of the glass covered 'Destinations' sign that had every train departing and entering the station that day listed on it.

"Here." Bane pointed to a train towards the top of the list. "We'll take this one," she decided. "We can take a bus from there." Rogue nodded slightly, following her to the ticket counter.

Bane placed several bills on the counter; some were hers, the others were ones Rogue had pooled. "Two for the six-thirty Jersey, please," Bane said. The man behind the counter nodded, and rang up the charges on the cash register. He took the money, and handed Bane her change and tickets.

"Thank you," Rogue said. The man nodded and smiled slightly. Bane hefted her backpack, and Rogue followed her across the lobby, holding her own bag by the handles in front of her. The two girls climbed onto the train, and stored their bags in the rack above the empty bench seats they had chosen. Rogue sat next to the window, and Bane sat across from her, legs stretched over the expanse of the bench seat.

Rogue stared out the window at the people in the station. Bane leaned back against the window, hood drawn down over her eyes, ignoring the other people on the train or outside of it. The two girls didn't speak; Bane was exhausted to the point she couldn't sleep, and she felt a twisted knot of sick pain in the pit of her stomach that made it extremely uncomfortable to do anything but sit and stew.

"You kids runnin' again?"

Bane turned her head upward. "Logan?" she asked, slightly shocked he was able to follow them here. She had taken immense measures to try and keep herself and Rogue from being tracked.

"The professor located the two of you through Cerebro," Logan said, sitting next to Rogue. "It's some high-tech machine he built with Magneto." Bane's eyes widened slightly. "He uses telepathy to power it, and it connects him to every person's mind on the planet. That's how he found you," he said, tapping his temple. Bane looked back down at her fingers, and tightened them against her jeans.

"I'm sorry about last night," Logan said, turning to Rogue.

"Me too," she replied. It was silent for a few minutes.

"Why did you guys leave?" Logan finally asked.

"I heard the professor was mad at me," Rogue promptly answered.

Logan looked at Bane. "I heard the kids at school hated me," she finally answered quietly.

"Well, who told you that?" Logan asked.

"A boy at school," Bane and Rogue answered at the same time. Bane turned her head and caught her gaze.

"Bobby?" she asked. Rogue nodded.

"John?" Bane nodded as well. There was never a time more than this Bane appreciated having Rogue as her best friend.

There was another, longer silence, during which Bane came to a realization. "Y-you think we should go back!" she said incredulously, sitting up and setting her feet on the floor, gripping the edges of her seat.

"No," Logan said forcefully, looking at her. "I think you should follow your instincts." He glanced at Rogue. "Both of you." Rogue swallowed.

"The first boy I ever kissed ended up in a coma for three weeks. He's still in my head… just like it is with you," she said to Logan.

"The first boy I ever had a crush on got sent to prison for attempted sexual battery," Bane said, looking at her knees. She could sense Rogue was crying. Logan put his arm around her, and pulled her into a comforting hug. He looked at Bane as he spoke.

"There's not many people that'll understand what you're going through," he started. "But I think this guy Xavier's one of them. He seems to genuinely want to help the two of you, and that's a rare thing for people like us."

Something in her knew he was right. However, she couldn't bring herself to actually want to go anywhere near people right now. This accident with Rogue and Logan last night had reminded her how easily she could hurt people. Her eyes watered, and spilled over a little.

Rogue reached her gloved hand out and took hold of Bane's arm, and pulled her towards her and Logan, drawing her into the hug as well. She didn't try to fight as Rogue and Logan put their arms around her. She didn't mind kneeling on the hard, dirty train floor.

As the train started moving, though, she forced herself to stop crying, and stepped back into her seat.

"So." Logan arched an eyebrow. "What do you say? Give these geeks one more shot?" Bane laughed a little, wiping her eyes. "Come on," he cajoled. "I'll take care of you. Both of you." She took strange comfort in those words. She supposed that it was at that moment Logan became a familial figure to her.

"You promise?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah," Logan replied. "Yeah, I promise."

Rogue looked at Bane. "What about you, Bane?"

She nodded at her, and reached out for her hands. "It'll be you and me, Rogue. We'll stick it out, I guess," she said.

"You guess?" Logan asked, arching his eyebrow again. Rogue grinned, and Bane opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could, the train that had been moving smoothly seconds ago began to rumble and shake violently.

Bane grunted, getting thrown to the ground. Rogue landed on top of her. The train came to a dead halt, and the lights flickered on the ceiling. Logan stood up and stepped into the aisle. Bane pulled herself out from under Rogue, and helped her to her feet.

The entire train began to shudder back and forth. There was a giant groan in the back. Bane's head whipped around, and she stepped up behind Logan as everyone began to scream. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched the end of the train begin to seemingly peel itself apart in a shower of sparks. The entire back of the train was ripped away, and through the smoke that rose from the broken electrical wires a man appeared, seemingly levitating until he landed on the very edge of the aisle at the back of the train. Rogue screamed. Logan turned and pushed both girls down low in the seat. Bane and Rogue clutched each other's arms, and Bane peered over the top of the seat.

The man, now visible, was older, and clearly very powerful. He wore a cape and a large, metal helmet over his head. He started walking slowly forward. Logan threw his arms out, and his claws extended. Several more people screamed.

"You must be Wolverine," the man said. Logan took a step forward, but the man put his hand out, and Logan suddenly stopped moving. Rogue gulped.

"That remarkable metal doesn't run through your entire body, does it?" the man asked. Logan glared up at him.

"He can't move!" Bane suddenly realized. "He controls metal!"

The man spread his fingers, and Logan's body became very straight and stiff. The farther and farther the old man spread his fingers apart, Logan started to drift higher and higher into the air, his limbs pulled further back, and his claws pulled farther and farther apart.

"Stop!" Rogue suddenly shrieked. "Stop it!" She was shaking, but whether from fear or anger, Bane couldn't tell.

"You're hurting him!" Bane yelled, standing. Rogue's fingers clutched at her sleeve.

"What the hell… do you want… with me?" Logan grunted.

"You?" The man chuckled. "My dear boy, whoever said I wanted you?"

Rogue stumbled back into the opposite seat as Logan fought against the man controlling him to look at the two girls.

"BANE!" Rogue yelled.

She was already on it. Bane put her arms out in front of her, set her jaw in a hard line, and focused on the metal in Logan's body. She started trying to pull Logan back together in a more comfortable position.

"I see Mystique outdid herself. I only expected one of you," the man said. Bane did her best to ignore him. She closed her fingers, and put Logan's claws back into a normal position, and tried to push Logan's arms closer to his body. The man in the helmet frowned. He put his other arm forward, and pointed all his fingers upward, overpowering Bane's untrained ability and shoving Logan towards the front of the car. He hit the wall, and collapsed on the ground. Bane was forced onto the ground between the seats from the backlash of her power being thrashed by the man's, and she could see Rogue starting to panic in her seat.

She suddenly jumped up. Dazed from hitting her head against the side of the train, Bane barely realized what Rogue was doing. Bane managed to get to her feet.

"ROGUE!!" she yelled, trying to get the other girl's attention. She was too late to react to the needle that zoomed through the air in front of her and found its mark in Rogue's neck. Bane screamed as she fell.

"Young people," the man sighed, shaking his head slightly. He turned to look at Bane. "Luckily, I come prepared," he said. Another needle came up from his waistband, this time directed at Bane. It shot through the air, but Bane raised her hand and stopped it. Closing her eyes, she recalled watching Jean levitate things to her hand in class, and this man now controlling metal. Perhaps she could splice her power in two and overpower the needle that way. Bane slowly raised her other arm, and opened her eyes. Her idea seemed to work; the needle moved in reverse for several feet before the man stopped it.

"I had heard about your talents, but it seems the words I've heard to describe them just don't do them justice," the man said, hand steady. Both of Bane's were shaking from the immense flows of power she was using. "What is your name, child?" She felt compelled to answer.

"Bane," she said through gritted teeth. "And yours?"

The man smiled, and flicked his hand upward. Surprised by the sudden change of his power flow, she faltered, which allowed the needle to pierce her neck. Her hand clamped down on it, and she fell to her knees. The man walked forward, and stood over her.

"They call me Magneto," he said as Bane slumped forward, unconscious.

* * *

Toad dropped from the ceiling, a long black bag in his hands. "There's an extra," he said, looking at the two girls Magneto was levitating.

"Mystique performed brilliantly," Magneto answered. He let Rogue drop, and Toad caught her. "This one we're keeping." He glanced at Bane's unconscious form. "This one… I'm not so sure about." He let Bane fall as well, and Sabertooth caught her and slung her body over his shoulder. Together, they strode toward the doors of the station. Magneto was not surprised to see the dozens of squad cars parked outside. There had to be close to fifty police officers kneeling across the front lawn of the station, guns drawn.

"Alright, hold it right there," a chief officer spoke into a megaphone. "Stay where you are. Put your hands over your head now," he ordered.

Wordlessly, Magneto lifted his arms, raising two of the squad cars. He turned them midair, and sent them crashing down on two more. Every gun in the field became cocked. Magneto pulled them away with a turn of his hands, and pointed them back at the heads of all the officers.

"You homosapiens and your guns," he said, as if he were tired of the whole thing.

Suddenly, Sabertooth's free hand became wrapped around Magneto's throat. "That's enough, Eric," he growled.

Toad turned. "Let them go."

Magneto's eyes swept across the lawn. "Why not come out where I can see you, Charles?" he said in a loud, strong voice.

"What do you want them for?" Sabertooth – or rather, the professor – asked.

"Can't you read my mind?" Magneto asked mockingly. "What now? Save your precious students? You'll have to kill me, Charles. And what will that accomplish? Let them pass that law, and they'll have you in chains with a number burned into your forehead!" he said.

"It won't be that way," the professor replied, speaking through his medians.

"Then kill me," Magneto offered, "and find out."

Nothing happened.

"Hmm? Then release me," Magneto finished.

Toad turned, and started taking slow steps towards the police cruisers.

"Fine," Magneto said angrily. The police chief's gun cocked, and the trigger pulled. The crowd all ducked and screamed.

The bullet stopped, spinning just short of entering the man's head, right between his eyes. "Care to press your luck, Charles?" Magneto asked. The rest of the police officers' guns cocked. "I don't think I can stop them all," he added.

After a few more tense seconds, Sabertooth's hand came away, and Toad, shaking his head clear, came back to the group. "Still unwilling to make sacrifices," Magneto said, as if he were scolding a young child. "That's what makes you weak."

The sound of a helicopter flying low overhead suddenly filled everyone's ears. Magneto raised Bane's limp body off of Sabertooth's shoulders, and threw her down the station steps carelessly.

"As a sign of my good will, Charles, I'll let you have this one back. Too much free spirit," he said. He, Sabertooth, and Toad all stepped over her to get to the helicopter, Rogue still in the black bag over Toad's shoulder.

"Goodbye, Charles."

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**Thank you for reading, please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

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A/N: Hola! I hope everyone had a good week. The first installment of my X-Men series is almost over... Each installment comes in five parts, in case you were wondering. So, that means X2 will be up soon. Happy fanfic-ing!

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_Chapter 4_

Bane's eyes flickered open, and she breathed in deeply. The ceiling slowly came into focus above her. "I've… been here before…" she muttered, blinking. That was the mansion's ceiling. She sat up, and put a hand to her forehead. At least she was still dressed this time.

That man… Magneto… Her head suddenly shot up. She was in the mansion. They didn't want Logan.

"He's got Rogue," Bane realized.

She climbed down from the table as quick as she could, but stopped, gazing down. The table that was next to hers was occupied. She slowly stepped up to the bed. The man on it appeared to be very ill; he seemed to be sweating profusely, and every vein in his body was blue and popping out of his skin.

Bane gasped. She recognized this man from the short time she had been in the States. He was a lead supporter of the Mutant Registration Act. "S-Senator Kelly?" she whispered. He gasped loudly, struggling for air.

"Is somebody there?" he asked hoarsely.

"I am…" Bane said, looking down at his face. His hand suddenly latched onto her wrist. She jumped.

"Please… don't leave me," the senator said. She swallowed hard, and pulled her hand out of his grasp slightly so she was holding his. "Don't… want to be alone," he panted.

"Of course," she said softly.

"Do you… HATE normal people?" he suddenly asked.

"I… I don't think so," she said, brows furrowed.

"Why?"

She contemplated her answer. "I guess… I am afraid of what they will do, or of what I will do to them. They are the majority, and that is what I fear," she finally replied.

"Well," Senator Kelly started, "I think… you've got a smaller… majority to be afraid of."

She shook her head. "No, don't say that," she said. His arm fell back to the table, limp.

Bane suddenly remembered healing John; perhaps she could save the senator that way. It was worth a try.

She placed her hands on either side of the senator's sopping wet face, and focused, closing her eyes and scrunching her forehead. That cool sensation came back into her hands.

Senator Kelly started to make a noise, and, eager to see if her healing had worked, Bane opened her eyes. She realized the noises were choking and gurgling sounds coming from his throat. He started to swell up, and became larger and larger.

"No!" she gasped, stepping back. She bumped into the table behind her. Senator Kelly's skin faded until he was translucent, and his body rolled like waves in the ocean. All distinguishing features disappeared.

Then, just as suddenly as it had all began, the water and fluid spilled over the table and onto the floor with a splash. Bane crouched down, screaming and crying, and covered her head with her hands. She faintly heard the infirmary doors slide open.

"Bane!" Storm called, heeled boots coming to a stop. Bane tried to scramble up, but slipped in the liquid, falling backwards into what used to be Senator Kelly. She started panicking. Storm came around the head of Senator Kelly's table.

"Oh, Bane," Storm said, kneeling down in front of her. Bane was breathing heavily, glancing rapidly in all directions.

"It was an accident!" she breathed frantically. "I-I was only trying to help! I didn't mean to hurt anyone, I swear!" Storm reached toward her, and hushed her in a motherly tone, hugging her.

"Of course you didn't, baby. He was going to die anyway, before you were even involved. He was a sick man, Bane," she soothed.

After Bane stopped crying, Storm pulled her to her feet. "Let's get you into some dry clothes." Her arm draped over her shoulders, Storm led Bane to a circular center where several hallways met. There were several tall glass cases that had headless mannequins in black leather uniforms displayed in them.

"What are those?" Bane asked, gesturing.

"X-Men uniforms," Storm answered.

"X-Men?"

"You'll see."

Storm opened a thin closet and pulled out a few articles of clothing. Bane changed quickly when she turned her back. "They've got Rogue," she told Storm as she zipped up a thin black sweatshirt with a large silver and grey X sewn over the left breast.

"I know," she said. "Hurry." Dressed, Bane followed Storm upstairs and into the professor's study. Storm threw the door open.

"Senator Kelly is dead," she announced.

"I'm going to find Rogue," Professor Xavier said, glancing at Bane huddled behind Storm. He then turned to Logan and Scott with a stern, fierce expression. The two men were glaring at each other; judging by the tense atmosphere in the room, they had clearly been arguing about just that. "Settle this."

* * *

As the professor wheeled out of the room, Bane slipped away to follow him. When he stopped at the elevator, she shyly stepped up to his side. "May I come with you, Professor?" she asked quietly. With a ding, the doors slid open. He nodded curtly.

"Yes. Come along." She stood in the elevator beside him as they went down.

"Magneto didn't say anything about where he was going," she said. The professor nodded.

"I didn't think so," he said. "However, I have a pretty good idea where to begin my search." The elevator doors opened again, and Bane followed Professor Xavier down a series of lower level hallways until he stopped a few feet from a circular silver door. A thin blue light came from the center of the door, and then with a metallic clang, they started to open.

"Welcome, Professor," a cool, metallic female voice said.

"Do you want me to stay out here?" Bane asked.

"No; I would like you to see Cerebro. Logan's explanation didn't do it near enough justice," he said with a slight smile.

She followed him into a spherical room walled with square silver panels. Down a long walkway into the center of the room there was a desk-like machine. A helmet with two wires connected to each side rested on top.

The professor set the helmet over his head. "Don't move, Bane," he said.

She stopped a few feet behind his wheelchair obediently, and then the professor sat for a minute. To her eyes, nothing was happening, but maybe only the professor was able to see whatever the machine could do. However, when he started to reach up frantically as if to pull the helmet off, something seemed amiss. The helmet clattered to the walkway, and Xavier slumped forward, his wheelchair starting to roll back. Cerebro's lights started to flash on and off as Bane's head snapped back and forth as she tried to see everything at once.

"Professor!" Bane gasped, watching in horror as he collapsed onto the floor, fallen from his chair. She ran to him and kneeled down at his head. She leaned forward, and listened for breathing. She was startled to find his eyes were open.

"Help!" she yelled, craning her neck around to look out of Cerebro's now open doors. "Help! Anybody!!"

No response. Of course no one was going to hear her all the way down here. Bane carefully lifted the professor's head onto her lap, not wanting to leave him.

Jean.

Telepathy was something Bane could do. Bane could do anything. Closing her eyes, she tried to locate Jean in the mansion. Bane sensed she was still in the professor's study. Logan, Storm, and Scott were there as well.

_Dr. Grey!_ she thought, entering her mind. She could sense the other woman wince.

_Not so loud, Bane,_ Jean thought in return.

_It's the professor, Dr. Grey! We're down in the Cerebro room… Something went wrong, I don't know what… He needs help!_ she thought.

_We're coming,_ she replied in Bane's head after a moment.

* * *

Scott and Logan had laid the professor out on a metal infirmary slab, with over a dozen wires stuck to his head. Bane sat in the corner of the room, silent.

"I'm sorry," Logan said aloud, turning away and leaving the room. Bane turned her head slightly to watch him go.

An hour later, she wasn't able to stand sitting in that room anymore. She stood up and left, resting her hand on Scott's arm for a few seconds before walking through the doors.

It was late; all of the students, except Bane, had gone up to their rooms for curfew. She sat on one of the small leather sofas in one of the living rooms, not even remotely close to tired. Logan and Storm were in one of the other rooms, arguing again about sides and a war. She could hear them talking dimly. Then she heard the slight ding of the elevator. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Scott helping Jean out of the elevator. She looked very weak; something must have happened. Bane quietly stood, and crept out into the hall, peering around the corner. The two went into a room just down the hall.

Bane became curious. She tiptoed down the hall. The door to the room Scott, Jean, Logan, and Storm were all in was closed. Bane extended her arm, and moved her pointed index finger in a tiny circle. The doorknob twisted, and opened inward a few inches. Bane put her back against the wall in case someone noticed. After a few moments, no one seemed to, and she silently stood at the cracked door, listening and looking inside.

The four adults were positioned around a table that was moving with Scott's voice. "Magneto is here; Liberty Island," Scott said. "Now, presumably, his objective is to mutate the world leaders at the U.N. Summit on Ellis Island." The map changed again to show both Liberty Island and Ellis Island.

"He doesn't know his machine kills," Storm said, her voice calm and serene. Senator Kelly flashed through Bane's mind, and she shivered slightly. What machine? "And judging from what the professor saw," she continued, "if Magneto gave Rogue enough power-"

"He could wipe out everyone in New York City," Jean finished. Apparently the professor had read Senator Kelly's mind. The grey map showed a wave starting at the Statue of Liberty and washing over Ellis Island and all of New York City.

"Alright," Scott said. "We can insert here, at the George Washington Bridge, and come around the bank just off of Manhattan. We'll land on the far side of Liberty Island here." The map changed to illustrate all of what he was saying.

"What about harbor patrol? Radar?" Logan asked.

"If they have anything that can pick up our jet, they deserve to catch us," Scott said. Logan looked as if he seriously doubted that. Logan didn't ever believe what Scott said, though.

Taking a deep breath, Bane pushed the door open all the way, and stepped into the room. Everyone's heads turned sharply to look at her. She rubbed her fingers together. "Please," she said. "I want to come with you to save Rogue. I don't… I don't really know what's going on, but I want to help."

Scott shook his head as she spoke. "Absolutely not. That's completely out of the question." No one else said anything. Her eyes started to burn, but Bane refused to cry. She had cried too much during the entire time she had been at the mansion. She refused to cry anymore.

She swallowed hard. "Please," she whispered. It was silent again, and then Storm turned to Scott.

"Let her go. I'll keep an eye on her. I think her powers could really help us," she said. Scott shook his head again.

"You're not going to be able to watch her while we're fighting Magneto," he persisted.

"She'll be my responsibility," Logan suddenly said, looking up from the table. Scott turned and tilted his head slightly to look unbelievingly at him.

"Are you sure, Logan?" Jean asked. Logan nodded, arching his eyebrow.

"It won't be a problem. I can handle myself, and I can watch her." There was a hesitant moment, when everyone turned to wait for Scott's answer. Finally, he sighed and threw his hands up in the air in reluctant assent. Bane ran to Logan, and threw her arms around his neck.

"Thank you," she whispered.

* * *

Minutes later, Bane found herself seated behind Jean in the X-Men's jet.

"You actually go outside in these things?" Logan asked, fidgeting in his new black uniform, identical to the ones she had seen in the display cases earlier. Bane still wore the clothes she had received from Storm.

"Well, what would you prefer, yellow spandex?" Scott asked sarcastically. A little laugh escaped from Bane's lips. Logan turned to look at her, eyebrow arched. She shrugged.

Storm was working the controls. There was a slight thudding noise, and a shake.

"How are we getting out of here?" Bane asked. Jean looked over the back of her seat, and nodded her head upwards. Bane leaned toward the window, looking up past the top of the jet. What she had thought to be the ceiling split in two and started retracting in opposite directions. She felt thrusters sputter to life on the bottom of the jet, and they began to lift the jet up out of the large lower level room. Her stomach jumped, but she swallowed hard and ignored it. The jet hovered in midair for a moment as Scott set its course, and then started off, steadily growing in speed.

Once the jet got going, the Statue of Liberty came into view quickly. "Wow," Bane breathed, leaning toward the window again. Storm turned to look at her.

"Haven't you ever seen her before, Bane?" she asked.

Bane shook her head. "I've never even been close."

Storm turned back around as Scott spoke.

"There's the bridge," he said. "I'm taking her down." The plane dived through the air, raising water in its wake as it flew under the Washington Bridge. "Storm? Some cover, please," he asked. Bane only needed to see the fog rising from nowhere outside to know Storm's eyes had filmed over milky white. Scott pushed a few buttons at the top of the plane, and a red line dropped down across the windshield that made everything visible in a red sheen.

The plane's pace slowed to a near stop, and then made a slightly rough landing in the water. Bane slid around in her seat a little. She undid her seatbelt as Scott turned off the engine.

"Sorry," Scott apologized.

"You call that a landing?" Logan asked. Bane laughed slightly, standing. She walked down the back of the plane, and Jean dropped the exit ramp. Bane stepped out of the jet, and Logan stepped up onto the base of the Statue of Liberty in front of her. He turned, and pulled her up.

Once off the place, the five stopped to observe the statue. "The torch," Scott said, stating the obvious. The bottom of it was a different color green than the rest of the statue.

"Is that where Magneto's machine is?" Bane asked. Storm nodded.

"His machine is built to turn normal humans into mutants. It takes so much power, if Magneto were to do it himself, he would die. That's why he needs-"

"Rogue," Bane whispered. Logan looked down at her.

"Let's go," Scott said.

* * *

The doors to the statue building had been locked, but Bane easily used her powers to open the lock from the outside and push open the doors while simultaneously disabling the silent alarm.

"You're getting better," Storm said. She shrugged.

"That was easy," she replied. "If I ever need to be a thief, though, I'm good."

Proceeding with caution and near silence, the group proceeded through the foyer of the gift shop, Bane safely sandwiched between the four X-Men.

Realizing something, Bane whipped around to try and stop Logan from walking through the metal detectors, but they had already gone off, loudly and shrilly. Reacting quickly, Logan's claws extended, and he jammed them into the flashing red alarms on the left side of the detector. The alarm died with a bright shower of sparks.

Bane lowered the arms she had thrown up in front of her face, grinning slightly. She glanced over her shoulder at Scott's withering glare. Logan retracted his two outer claws, giving Scott the adamantium bird. She grinned wider. Scott smirked, laughing silently, and Jean shook her head in a slight, disbelieving way.

For the next few minutes, the five of them spread out a little across the entire first floor. Bane wasn't entirely sure what they were looking for, and stopped to look at several displays, dropping her guard slightly. A glass-covered case in the middle of the floor caught her attention, and she started walking toward it. As she moved to pass Logan, however, he put his arm out to stop her.

"What?" she asked. He sniffed the air, and Scott joined the two of them.

"There's someone here," Logan said lowly.

"Where?" Scott asked immediately, looking around fervently.

"I don't know. Keep your eye open," Logan replied, starting forward. Even at times like these, he could still make sarcastic comments.

"Logan!" Scott hissed, trying to keep him from leaving the main floor. Logan ignored him, turning a corner ahead. "Damn it…" Scott cursed. Bane rubbed her arms.

"You know, now that he said it, I am getting that creepy 'being watched' vibe," she said quietly. Jean rested a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.

Logan came back a few seconds later. "Anything?" Scott asked.

"I know there's someone here, I just can't see 'em," he growled. Scott turned away, looking around. Bane glanced over her shoulder at Jean and Storm, and then looked forward again in time to see Logan extend his claws.

"LOGAN!!" she screamed, eyes widening in horror. Scott whipped around, and then someone leaped from the side, crashing into Logan. Bane froze, staring.

"Logan?"

The two Wolverines fell to the side and rolled, fighting each other. Bane, Scott, Jean, and Storm ran after them. Scott put a hand to his eye gear to shoot. Both men put their hands out to stop him. "WAIT!"

Bane pointed to the one closest to her. "That one!"

Scott turned, but the fake Logan cut the weight holding the steel door open, and it slammed closed.

"Alright, back up, back up!" Scott ordered, pushing the three women back. He raised a hand to the side of his head again, but everyone was distracted by someone Bane recognized. The mutant who had attacked her back in Seattle, the one she guessed was obviously Toad, flew through the air, slamming his feet onto Scott's chest and sending him sailing backwards into an open doorway. Then he kicked his legs out, connecting with both Storm and Jean. They each fell to the side and Toad landed, facing Bane.

"We meet again," he said with a malicious grin. He turned to one side and stuck his tongue out to pull a door closed, hiding Scott behind it. He turned back to Bane. "Now, then," he said.

She bent her knees, preparing to fight. Toad shot his tongue out at her, but she leapt into the air and levitated herself, avoiding him. He shot at her again and again, and she swooped left and right, trying hard not to fall out of the air.

Bane looked around, trying to figure out how to attack Toad. She noticed a large Statue of Liberty model in the corner of the room. Focusing on it, she tipped the heavy model over. It fell on Toad, and broke into pieces. He groaned loudly, but didn't move.

Bane landed gently on the ground and put a hand to her pounding heart. She took deep, calming breaths, amazed she could think on her feet that quickly.

Jean was up and at the door that was blocking Scott from the main room, trying to pull it open. Storm got to her feet, nodding at Bane. "That was good, Bane," she said. Bane smiled weakly.

Toad's tongue suddenly shot down from the upper level, and wrapped around Storm's wrist, yanking her upwards. She gave a strangled shout.

"Storm!" Bane yelled after her, hearing her crash into something above. She hadn't even noticed Toad move from under the statue. She mentally berated herself. He leaped over the rail, and lashed out with his tongue on the way down, catching Bane off guard and knocking her into a square pillar as he landed. She hit her head hard, and had to lie on the floor, dazed, for several moments before she could stand. She vaguely heard her name being called above her. Everything in front of her was sideways, spinning, and double.

Hand to the back of her head, she stumbled a few steps forward, and then regained her balance. Her vision swam for a few seconds more, and then she was able to focus in on Scott kneeling beside Jean, who had a hard, green, plaster-like substance covering two-thirds of her face.

_Toad must be on the second level again,_ she thought.

Shakily, she tried to levitate herself again. She floated up to the second level, and saw Toad knock Storm into the empty elevator shaft. A scowl twisting her features, Bane strode stormily up to him. She tapped his shoulder with two fingers.

"Hey!" she said loudly. Toad turned, and she gave him the hardest right hook she could muster. He fell to the ground moaning. She added in a kick for good measure. Bane then turned, and ran for the railing, leaning over it. "Are you guys alright?" she asked, looking down at Scott and Jean. Jean's face was now clear of any blockage.

"Yeah, we're fine," Scott said.

"BANE!" Jean yelled, pointing. She turned around just in time to see Toad's feet push her over the rail, and then she was falling to the floor below.

Jean dived forward, arm outstretched, and she stopped Bane a few feet before she hit the ground. Jean let her land on her feet, but as soon as she touched floor, Bane dropped to her knees.

"Thank you," she breathed, palms against the tile.

"What about Storm?" Scott asked, hand on Jean's back.

There was a tiny ding from the second floor. The three of them turned to look up. There were bright flashes of lightning from above, and a strong wind began to blow.

"I think that answers our question," Bane said.

"Don't you people ever die?!" she heard Toad shout from above.

"Yeah," Scott replied. "That just about sums it up." He helped Bane to her feet, and she stood, shorter, next to Jean and Scott.

"Is Logan back yet?" she asked. Jean shook her head.

"Not yet," she answered over the din from upstairs. Bane nodded curtly, and turned slightly away from them. She closed her eyes, and tuned out Storm's noise. Focusing hard enough on Logan, she was pretty sure she could find him.

"Wait here," Bane told them, turning and jogging in the direction she had sensed him in.

"Bane, wait!"

* * *

Bane weaved in and out of displays and square pillars. "Logan…" she whispered in a singsong voice. "Logan? Logan!"

"Bane, is that you?"

She turned around. "Storm!" she smiled. "You're not hurt, are you?"

She shook her head. "No. And you?"

Bane smiled wider. "I'm fine."

Storm looked around. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was looking for Logan. I thought I sensed him here, but I guess I locked onto you instead," Bane replied.

"I came down here to look for Logan, too, but he's not here," Storm said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Come on. We have to regroup."

Bane looked at her. Something about her was wrong. She looked down at Storm's hand on her shoulder. It was bruised, and looked broken. Realization shot through her, and she quickly pulled away.

"You're not Storm," she said. She smiled, and held up the injured hand, looking at it.

"You're right," she said, a touch of darkness to her voice.

Bane drew a shaky breath. "John…" she whispered.

"There's a problem," a voice said from behind the imposter. Someone grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her back into their chest. Bane looked up.

"Logan!"

Claws extended, he thrust them into the stomach of whatever was pretending to be Storm. "You're not part of the group."

Bane gasped as he wrenched his claws from her body. Every aspect of her began changing; her hair, her skin, her clothes, her body. She finally collapsed on the floor in a blue-skinned, red-haired form, three inch-long puncture wounds in her abdomen. Bane recognized the blue woman from the alley in Seattle. She must be a shafeshifter, the mutant Xavier had called Mystique.

"Come on, Bane," Logan said, putting a heavy hand on her shoulder and steering her away from the woman's body. She looked up at his face; he didn't call her by her name a lot. "Let's go get Rogue."

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**I hope you enjoyed Chapter Four. Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: A-ha! The last chapter in the first installment has arrived... I know, I'm a tad bit morose myself, but the second installment, **_The Promise Broken_**, has been posted! As always, enjoy the chapter.**

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_Chapter 5_

In a single-file line, the five mutants climbed the spiral staircase leading to the top of the Statue of Liberty.

"Hey kid, you alright?" Logan asked after repeatedly glancing over his shoulder at Bane.

"You do look a little pale," Storm said. Bane gripped the railing with sweaty palms and swallowed hard.

"I don't like heights," she said haltingly as she reached to top of the lady's head and peered up at the torch. "I don't feel so goo-"

"Everybody get out of here," Logan said suddenly, cutting her off.

"What is it?" Storm asked, at the same time that Bane asked, "What?"

Logan stood at sort of a strange position. "I can't move," he said. His body turned slowly, and then was thrown against the wall. Bane jumped. Thin support beams tore themselves from the wall and wrapped themselves around Storm, Scott, and Jean, binding them to the wall. Bane looked around frantically, suddenly unsure of what to do.

Then Magneto sailed down from above, landing in the small room. Bane whipped around to face him. "Ah, my brothers. Welcome," he said, stepping forward. Bane took a step back. He looked at her. Extending his arm, she felt Trisha's necklace pull against the back of her neck. It suddenly started twisting around itself until it became tight against her throat. She choked, desperately attempting to suck in air.

"BANE!!" Logan and Storm shouted in horror as everyone watched her drop to her knees after a few moments, hand to her throat. Then she collapsed altogether, close to unconsciousness. The necklace dropped with a slight ping against the floor.

Bane tried not to make a lot of noise breathing in air greedily so Magneto would not notice she hadn't entirely blacked out. She laid there as he talked, regaining her strength.

"And you," he said, turning to Logan. "Let's point those claws of yours in a safer direction." Bane heard more metal clanking above and behind her, and she could only imagine what was happening. Logan grunted.

The floor shook slightly as someone else dropped in from above. "You'd better close your eyes," Magneto said. Stepping carelessly over her, the second man walked to where Bane knew Scott to be held, and she knew he must have removed Scott's goggles.

"Storm, fry him," she heard Scott say.

"Oh yes," Magneto replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. "A bolt of lightning into a huge copper conductor." He stepped over Bane as well. "I thought you lived at a school."

The man gave a dry chuckle, and then cleared his throat. "Mystique?" Magneto said. She could only guess he was trying to contact the blue female mutant by means of some sort of walkie-talkie. "Mystique," he said again, slightly more demanding.

"I've seen Senator Kelly," Jean said suddenly.

"So, the good Senator survived his fall… And the swim to shore! He's become even more powerful than I could have imagined," Magneto remarked.

"He's dead," Jean said.

"It's true," Storm added. "Bane saw him die. Like those people down there will die," she said forcefully. There was a tense moment of silence, and the soft rustle of cloth as Magneto shifted.

"Are you sure Bane saw what she says she saw?"

Bane heard fireworks outside, and she knew the summit had begun. Time was running out.

Magneto sighed and drew back. "Why do none of you understand what I'm trying to do?" he asked, perturbed. "Those people down there. They control our fate and the fate of every other mutant!" He took a deep breath. "Well," he said, calming slightly, "soon out fate will be theirs."

"Help!" Bane suddenly heard Rogue yell. Her eyes snapped open, searing and watering from the change in what she was seeing, and her breathing quickened. "Please, help me!"

"You're so full of shit," Logan said suddenly. "If you were really so righteous, it'd be you in that thing."

Rogue called out again, louder and more terrified. "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!"

Magneto's weight was suddenly gone from the floor, and Bane knew he had lifted himself out of the room.

"Please! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!!"

Magneto's giant henchman growled. Logan began breathing heavily.

"Somebody…" Rogue's shouts faded out. Logan started grunting, and Bane suddenly knew what he was going to do. It would work; or rather, it should work. She hoped it would because if it did, it would draw away the giant mutant.

She braced herself for his weight, as she knew that when he fell, it would be right on top of her, and she didn't want to give herself away. He suddenly bellowed, and she heard his claws come out of his knuckles.

"Logan!" Jean yelled. He hung in the metal beams for a moment before they gave way under his weight and he fell onto Bane's back. In moments, she felt warm blood soak through her sweatshirt and shirt against her skin, and shuddered slightly. The large mutant towered over Bane and Logan.

She needed to know his name. Probing his mind for just a few seconds, she found his name was Victor, and he called himself Sabertooth. He growled slightly, just as Logan took a breath. Bane exhaled silently in relief.

Sabertooth bent, grabbed Logan's collar, and pulled him up. As he did so, Logan put out his claws again, and stabbed them into Sabertooth's stomach. Sabertooth roared, and threw Logan out the top of the Statue of Liberty's head.

Bane lifted her head. "Bane!" Jean gasped as Sabertooth jumped out of the hole after Logan.

She rolled onto her back, and grinned. "Totally." She stood up and went to Storm, trying to pull on the green beam across her throat. It wouldn't move. She frowned. "Fine," she muttered to herself.

Bane put her right arm forward, and the beams across Storm's entire body creaked. She clenched her teeth, and pulled harder on the metal, copying Magneto's power. The beams suddenly gave way, and Bane stumbled back and fell onto the ground.

Storm dropped to her feet. She kneeled down in front of Bane, hugging her. Bane was caught by surprise. Storm held her shoulders and looked her over. "Are you alright?" she asked, peering at Bane's neck. Bane touched her throat. There was a thin abrasion she could feel running all around her neck from where the chain had pulled against the skin. She nodded, and stood up. Putting out both her arms, she pulled on the beams holding Scott and Jean, and freed them as well.

Everyone suddenly looked up as Rogue screamed. "Magneto's giving her his power," Bane sensed. She looked to Storm for support. "We have to go get her," she said.

"No," Scott said decisively. Logan's claws suddenly punctured through the side of Lady Liberty's head.

"We have to wait for Logan," Jean told her. Her temper flared for the first time since she had been at the mansion and with the X-Men.

"There's no time!" she yelled angrily. Everyone jumped as Sabertooth suddenly landed with a thud from above. He took a step forward, leering in Storm's direction.

"You owe me a scream…" he whispered. Rogue screamed again from above them, and Bane saw pieces of the torch fall in front of the windows of the crown. Bane gritted her teeth, and rounded her hands, fingertips touching.

"Go away!" she shouted. She created immense heat between her palms; heat so hot it liquefied the air around it. It was the strongest attack she had ever produced intentionally. With a yell, she thrust it toward Sabertooth. It shot from her hands and hit him square in the chest with such a force it knocked him backwards and sent him crashing through the front of the statue's crown.

Logan dropped down, and suddenly his sweat-drenched scowl lifted. "Good job," he said to her. He looked to Cyclops. "You drop something?" he asked, holding Scott's goggles up in his hand. Jean lifted them with her telekinesis, working them back into their normal shape and then setting them onto Scott's face. Bane watched him open his eyes, and shake his head slightly to get used to the sudden light after having them closed for so long.

"Thanks," he said to Bane and Logan both.

"Don't mention it," they replied simultaneously. Logan glanced at her as she strode to the hole Sabertooth's body had created. She looked up at where the torch used to be. She could see Rogue in the middle of some machine that was spinning very, very fast.

"We've gotta get her out of there," Bane said. Logan looked at Cyclops, who was standing at her other side.

"Cyclops, can you hit it?" he asked. Bane was already shaking her head, knowing it wouldn't work. She chewed her lip and clenched her fists.

"The rings are moving too fast," Scott replied.

"Just shoot it!" Logan yelled.

"I'll kill her!" he shouted. He turned to Storm.

"Can you get me up there?" he asked. Storm shook her head.

"I can't control it like that," she replied. "You could fly right over the torch." Bane turned.

"Put me up, I'm smaller," she said.

"No," Logan said forcefully. "That's even worse." He looked at Storm. "Let me go. If I don't make it, then at least you can still blast the damn thing," he said. He was speaking to Scott, but he was looking at Bane. She set her jaw, and nodded.

"Alright, do it," Scott finally said. He turned to Jean. "Use your power. Try to steady him," he told her. She nodded. Everyone was looking up at the torch.

"Hang on to something," Storm said, taking a few steps back. The winds picked up, blowing around heavier and harder. Bane crouched below the hole in the crown, hanging on to the handrail above her. Logan looked to Jean, and then down at Bane as he was sucked up through the top of the statue's head. Bane forced herself to stand up against the wind, and gave a slight sigh of relief as Logan latched on to the top of the machine. Storm's winds died back down again, and everyone gathered under the hole.

Bright, clear light began to gather at the top of the machine, and started to pour over the sides and down the Statue of Liberty's arm like liquid.

Logan had the situation handled. Rogue would be safe in his hands, Bane felt sure of that. The mutant gene-affecting substance began moving quickly, and she turned her attention to Ellis Island. All ceremonies seemed to have stopped, and she could hear distant screams.

"Those people… Someone needs to help them," she said. She turned around to face the three remaining official X-Men. "I can help them," Bane said.

Scott shook his head. "No. Logan'll stop… the machine in time," he said. He kept himself from saying 'stop Rogue'.

Bane's gaze hardened. "I can do this," she said. She pointed behind her. "Those people need help, and I can do this," she said louder and more firmly. Scott opened his mouth, but Storm rested a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"She can," she said. She looked at younger girl. "Can you teleport?" Bane knew the term. She nodded, and Storm smiled slightly.

"I have faith in you," she said quietly. Bane blinked, staring at her. "Go…" Storm said, just barely audible. Nodding firmly again, Bane steadied her stance on the ground, put her hands down at her sides, and closed her eyes.

* * *

The second Bane knew she had vanished from the inside of the statue's head, she felt an immense weight pushing in on all sides. There was a bright flash of white light, and then nothing; just black emptiness. She felt as though her breath was being squeezed from her lungs and her chest. She thought all the pressure would make her ribs snap and collapse. Perhaps teleportation was instantaneous to the viewer, but it felt like she wouldn't ever get out.

She wanted out.

A blast of salty air suddenly hit her face, and she gasped for air. Then Bane realized she hadn't exactly made it to Ellis Island. In fact, she had only made it halfway, and she was now falling down towards the ocean.

"Damn it!" she breathed, the ocean looming up underneath her. "Go… go…!" she muttered to herself, trying to teleport herself the rest of the way. However, falling dozens of stories to her imminent death was a bit of a distraction. "GO!" Bane shouted.

As her back hit the water, she found herself in the chasm once more, struggling with relief and suffocation. However, not wanting a repeat of what just happened, she did her best to clear her mind and picture Ellis Island.

Suddenly, the screams she had heard from Liberty Island were ear-splitting and driving down into her eardrums. She opened her eyes as she landed on the stage that appeared to be at the front of the ceremonies. The people who had been close enough to see her arrive screamed again, and louder. One older man even leapt off the stage to get away from her.

Bane ignored all of them. She watched as the glowing cloud of Magneto's mutagen loomed ever larger and closer. Bane gazed at it intently, and used her power to stimulate her brain into analyzing the components of the cloud. Using the information she had gathered, she formulated the exact molecular barrier that would prevent the mutagen from reaching all the people on the island.

She braced her feet on the stage and threw her arms out to the sides. The only way she could think of to create the barrier was a force field around the entire island composed of the elements to counter the mutagen. She had never tried to summon that much power before, especially over this much area, but she didn't hesitate in trying. She began forming it from the bottom up. It was colorless except for a slight blue tinge and had white, lightning-like lines that occasionally flickered across it.

About halfway up, the barrier began to waver and fade out. "No…" Bane said through clenched teeth, every muscle in her body straining. She worked to open herself up to more and more power, and completed the force field. It took all Bane's concentration to hold up the field and watch the approaching wave. Sweat began to form and drip from every pore, and she began breathing heavily.

"Come on…" she muttered. "Come on, Logan!!" She was using every ounce of her strength to even remain standing at this point. It was the only other thing she could manage besides holding the force field up. Her knees began shaking.

The edges of Magneto's mutagen hit her force field, but didn't penetrate. She felt as though she was hit as hard as her force field was, and she struggled to regain her balance. The moment of pressure probably lasted no more than a few seconds, but those seconds stretched out, and Bane felt as though she kept being shoved backwards. Her limbs began to shake as she pushed against the wave, and her breathing became shallow and ragged. She knew the roots of her hair and her tank top were drenched with sweat.

Then the wave seemed to thin out, and then it dissipated from the source, the Statue of Liberty's torch, out. Her force field sputtered and, as Bane fell to her knees, faded altogether. Her stomach muscles clenched, and her hand flew to her mouth. She crawled to the edge of the stage as quick as she could, and leaned over the side, vomiting the contents of her stomach. She coughed slightly, and leaned back on her knees, looking up at the inky sky. Her damp hair began whipping around her face as she saw the X-Men's jet starting to lower out of the air.

"About time," she sighed. Then, as if a curtain came down over her eyes, her body finally gave out, and she collapsed.

* * *

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Bane's eyes slowly opened, and she drew a breath. She knew exactly where she was, and she laid there, staring up.

"I'm really beginning to hate this ceiling," she said to herself. With a sigh, she pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her muscles shouted in protest. She rubbed her face with her hands.

She turned and slid off the table, realizing she was again only in her underclothes and holding the sheet to her. Her bare feet hit the floor, a small shiver running up her spine, and then she started to sort through the cabinets. She went through them all, and found nothing. She subconsciously tightened the sheet around her body, and pulled it up, frowning and looking around. She saw nothing she could throw on to sneak upstairs to her room and find some decent clothes.

She heard the familiar _whoosh_ing sound of the infirmary door sliding open, and she jumped, whirling around. She saw Rogue, her arms full of Bane's clothes. "Rogue?" she asked.

"Bane?" she gasped. She set the other girl's clothes on the counter, and stepped up to her. She pulled the stethoscope out of her hands and looked at it, and then at Bane, laughing. Bane then noticed Rogue's hair, or rather, the new frontal white streaks.

"What's this?" she asked, reaching out and carefully pulling on a section.

"Oh, that. Magneto's machine did it somehow. Do you like it?"

Bane gave her a teasing smile. "It's kind of like Bride of Frankenstein, but in a cool way," she replied.

Rogue laughed, and gestured to the clothes she had brought. "Get dressed, and we'll go upstairs," she said.

* * *

Bane and Rogue talked and laughed the entire way upstairs.

"John's been worried about you, even though he won't say so," she said suddenly as the two of them stepped out of the elevator. Bane looked over at her, and her knowing smile, and was about to make a smart retort as someone down the hall called out her name.

"Bane? Bane!" She turned, and saw Storm gathering speed up the hallway. She grinned.

"Hi," she greeted her. Storm enveloped her in an immense hug.

"I'm glad you're finally awake," she said.

"Um… alright…" Bane said into her shoulder.

"You've been out for days," Rogue said.

"Days? How's the professor?" Bane finally thought to ask.

Rogue said, "He woke up before we came back. He's fine." Storm let Bane go.

"I'd like to talk to you," she said. Rogue touched her arm.

"I'll see you later," she said, starting down the hall toward the front of the mansion.

* * *

Storm took Bane upstairs into her room, and firmly closed the door. Bane sat on her bed, and Storm took a seat next to her.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

Bane groaned. "I'm so sore you wouldn't believe it," she replied. Storm laughed, and then it was quiet for a few minutes.

"Do you still feel like you're a cause of harm? Ruin? Death? Do you still think you are the source of misery and misfortune?" Startled, Bane looked at her, wide-eyed. "That's what Bane means," she said.

Bane looked at the tips of her shoes. "I know. That's why I chose it. It was appropriate," she said quietly. Storm looked at her, and extended her hand.

"My name is Ororo Munroe." Bane looked at her.

"But, everyone calls you Storm, even the professor," she said. Storm's hand remained in the air.

"My name is Ororo. I would like you to call me that from now on. What is your name?" she persisted.

Bane hesitated, and then slowly reached forward to shake her hand.

"Lexiss," she said. "My name is Lexiss Torrence."

"Do you know what Lexiss means?" Storm... Ororo asked. Bane shook her head. "Protector of mankind," she answered. Bane blinked. "That is what is appropriate," Storm added. Bane smiled, and then suddenly turned to face the window.

"Logan," she said suddenly. She stood.

"What is it?" Ororo asked.

"Logan," Bane replied. "He's leaving." She took long strides toward the window, and threw it open. Giving Ororo a quick wave over her shoulder, she leapt out. Ororo didn't move to stop her.

"She'll be alright," she said to herself.

* * *

Lexiss drifted through the air down to the driveway below, her arms outstretched from her body to help her maintain her balance. As she glided down from above, she watched as Logan turned from eyeing a black motorcycle parked in the drive to face the mansion. She landed quietly on the white cement and then perched herself on the bike.

"You'll miss it," Lexiss stated. He turned around. She draped an arm over one of her knees.

Logan shook his head and laughed slightly, putting his hands on his hips. "You think so?"

She nodded, glad he avoided the topic of her awakening, and then she looked down at the black bike. "This is Cyclops', you know," she said.

"Why the hell do you think I'm gonna take it?"

Lexiss smiled. "So, where're you headed?" she asked, standing and shifting he weight to one foot.

"Up north again, Alkali Lake this time," he replied. "The professor thinks I might find a little bit of myself up there."

"You are coming back right?" she asked as he gave her a farewell hug.

"Yeah. I left a few things around I'll need to pick up," he said.

Lexiss stepped back, and walked around him toward the front door.

"Hey," Logan called. She turned. "I'm proud of you," he said hesitantly. It was so unlike him to say something of that nature, and so unlike her to actually hear it, but she liked the way it sounded. She gave him a lazy, two-fingered salute, and grinned.

"Later."

* * *

It took about a week for Lexiss to get settled back into the groove of school and homework, but she managed. A few days later, on a Wednesday afternoon, she was sitting cross-legged on her bed, listening to music and working on physics homework, when someone knocked on her door. She didn't look up; she just answered, "Come in."

The door swung inward, and John stepped into her room. "Hey," he said. She looked up and grinned.

"Hey, yourself. What's up?" she asked, pulling the earphones out of her ears. John glanced down at her books.

"You actually do that stuff?" he asked. She arched an eyebrow at him.

"We're not all slackers," she said.

John shrugged. "Anyway, do you want to take a break and come downstairs and play a little foosball with Bobby and Rogue?"

Lexiss gratefully shut the thick book on her notebook paper. "Finally," she sighed, standing, interlacing her fingers and stretching her arms up over her head. "I was starting to think no one was going to come up here and save me."

John crossed his arms and stared at her. "I thought you weren't a slacker," he said.

She shrugged. "I did half of it," she replied. She paused, remembering something. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot," she said. She started opening the drawers in her nightstand, rooting through them for something.

As she moved on to her dresser, John asked, "What are you looking for?"

She got down onto her stomach. "Just chill for a second…" she said, voice muffled because her head was now under her bed. There was a moment of silence, and then she clearly found what she was looking for.

"Gotcha!"

John walked to where Lexiss was laying, and crouched down beside to her. "Got what?" he persisted.

She pushed herself out from under her bed and held a little red box in her hands. Sitting up, she ran a hand through her hair, and then presented the little box in both hands to John.

"Here," she said breathlessly.

"What is it?" he asked, taking it and looking at her suspiciously.

"Just open the stupid thing," she said.

Grumbling, he pulled the lid off and set the box in it. Inside, tilted diagonally so it would fit in the box, was a rectangular silver lighter with the features of a shark's head painted at the top. John pulled it out of the box slowly, and held it in his palm.

"What's this for?" he asked.

Lexiss grinned. "It's so you don't have to carry those crappy plastic Bic lighters around anymore," she said.

He looked at her. "Where'd you get it?"

"It was my dad's Zippo. I accidentally left with it in my jacket pocket. It was my dad's jacket, actually," she mused.

"I can't accept this," he said, making as if to hand it back to her. She grinned even wider.

"Sure you can," she said, pushing his hand back. "You can certainly put it to better use than I can."

John looked down at the lighter, and then flicked it open, and turned the tiny wheel to light it. A considerably sized flame erupted.

"Is that the only reason?" he asked, watching the fire. Lexiss thought about the question, even though she already knew the answer.

"Well," she said carefully, "I think the only reason I ever agreed to stay at the mansion in the first place was because of what you said to me. And look at me now. I actually have friends, I'm not so timid anymore, and I go by my birth name. I'm… me," she finished. "And I have you to thank for that."

John snapped the lighter closed with a decisive snap. "Yeah… Lexiss…" he said. "Who would have thought _that_ was your name?"

She glared at him. "Shut the hell up." She stood up, and started for the door. John turned, still in a crouched position, watching her.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

She paused in the doorway, and looked over her shoulder at him. "Weren't we going to kick Bobby and Rogue's asses at foosball? Come on, let's go," she said. John laughed, pocketed the lighter, and followed her.

Lexiss put her hands in her pockets, smiling to herself, and looked out each window as she passed it.

It looked like it was going to be a beautiful evening.

* * *

**Cue X-Men Theme**


End file.
